


Don't Make Me the Hero

by Princessfbi



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fainting, Flirting, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Protective!Barry, Secret Identity, Secret Relationship, These boys are so stupid, protective!Len
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-04
Updated: 2016-01-04
Packaged: 2018-05-11 16:51:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5633995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Princessfbi/pseuds/Princessfbi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I want to see him.”</p><p>Anton popped his gum again and then twice before he smirked. “Why the hell not? You’ve earned a treat.”</p><p>Len knew what was coming but he couldn’t help the scowl that pulled on his lips as a black bag was thrown over his head and his hands were zip tied in front of him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Len was not a fan of improvisation. Improvising usually stemmed from a lack of planning and led to unorganized chaos. Chaos that Len couldn't predict, couldn't control. He liked chaos just as much as the next criminal but only when it stemmed from his precise calculations. It was more work than actually putting the time and effort to plan, plan again, and consider a back up plan. Nothing like his father who's immediate back up was to leave a bloody trail in his wake. No, Len simply liked his options. Options that were planned by his design. Not improvised on the spot.  

Barry Allen was the only reason worth improvising that Len would ever consider. 

The glass shattered and splintered as Len bashed his cold gun into the case and fished through the mess with gloved hands. He usually enjoyed the feeling of the weight of heavy jewels he never would have been able to afford in any lifetime when he took them but not this time. He took a handful of both glass and diamonds and shoved them into his bag with a lack of usual meticulousness. The store was dark--- it must have been somewhere close to midnight--- and that meant Len didn’t have to be bothered with the schematics of dealing with witnesses. But with that blessing led to the same curse of Len being stuck alone with his thoughts. His thoughts as of late weren't a place he wanted to be. 

Clenching his jaw, Len checked around to make sure he had wiped the place clean of anything that would be worth some amount or value. The chaos he left in his wake was messy and fractured. Nothing like his normal habits. With a resigned sigh, he pulled the trigger on his gun at random and iced the floor in patches. At least that way the cops would know it’d been him since they wouldn’t have the help of the security system. It was obvious and went against everything of Len’s integrity as a thief but it would get the job done. He blasted his exit with his gun for good measure and marched out in the cold crisp air of Central City. Storming to the black van, he tossed the bag inside as the door slid open and didn’t fight when rough hands hauled him into the back. He was relieved of his gun, shoved to the ground as the van drove away, and held his hands out as the muzzle of a 9mm was pointed in his face.

“Nice job, Snart.” Len rolled his eyes with a scowl. Anton was not Len’s friend and never would be Len’s friend. He was a cousin in the Koval mob family that Len had taken out with Mick after Cisco rebuilt their guns and an ex-boyfriend of Lisa’s. Anton popped his gum and tossed the bag over to one of his buddies without taking his eyes off Len. He was greasy and a low life with no pride in anything he did except himself but he wasn’t stupid.

“Four robberies in one day isn’t usually my style.” Len drawled with a pointed stare. In fact his entire day’s worth of “work” had been some of the most shameful work he’d ever done. It’d been sloppy and poorly timed and _risky._ Cops were onto his little shopping spree in no time and on his third robbery he’d been forced to leave a little earlier than expected to avoid having to ice any of Central City’s finest. Anton had been furious and in any other instance Len would’ve been overcome with what little joy he had hidden away deep in his soul at the shade of red his face turned. But given the circumstances, Len kept his satisfaction for later. Still, Len had cleared more than enough for him in his short heist and he not so harshly reminded him of that.

Anton shrugged. “We aren’t really doing things your style, now are we?”

No, they weren't and it was going to get Len killed. But things were bigger than him and he was too painfully aware of that fact as the minutes passed. 

“I want to see him.”

Anton popped his gum again and then twice before he smirked. “Why the hell not? You’ve earned a treat.”

Len knew what was coming but he couldn’t help the scowl that pulled on his lips as a black bag was thrown over his head and his hands were zip tied in front of him.

The van drove in circles and he had nothing else left do but try and relax back against the wall. One pothole then two… a speed bump.

It didn’t matter. He knew they would be driving for a while and with the drop of adrenaline in his body he was struggling to stay alert enough to pay attention. He was exhausted. Usually after a heist he went out with Mick or Lisa. Well, out was relative. They drank the night away in one of their many safe houses throughout the city and talk for hours. Lisa talked and Mick would growl out a laugh but it was a soothing as a lullaby to Len’s electrified nerves that tingled and raced across his skin as another plan came to a close. It was an addictive thrill but a habit he’d dropped as of late. He’d moved on to better celebrations.

Despite everything, Len found himself allowing a small smile to grace his lips. He was turning soft and he wasn’t sure if he truly minded.

He wasn’t aware of how long they drove but it couldn’t have been more than forty minutes. Anton wasn't known for his patience. The unnecessary twists and turns had meant to throw Len off but when he was shoved out of the back of the van and onto the rough gravel he took in his surroundings without his eyes immediately. He smelled cement and grass and salt. By the water then. The absence of noise ruled out the city and suburbs. If they’d gone off road somewhere then the ride would’ve been a lot bumpier. The only places that were that bare of occupants but, still not glaringly obvious, were the stretch of road leading to the ferry for Iron Height and the city line towards Starling City. Being so close to Iron Heights was ballsy but any lowlife criminal knew that the first place the cops searched was the stretch of land leading towards the city limits.

Once his feet were under him, a rough hand guided Len by his arm. He stayed upright, keeping what little left of his dignity intact, but there was only so much a blind man could do in a house he’d never been in. He knew it was a house at least because the floor under his feet sounded like cheap hardwood and the front door screeched from a rusted spring ready to burst off the hinges in pieces.

Blind but not powerless.

He was dragged around a corner and forced to lean as whoever had been his guide opened what sounded like a small hatch. Unlike the front door, this one sounded new and smelled like a cheap glaze. His hands were freed from the zip ties and he was pushed down a step before a solid shove in between his shoulder blades sent him falling to the ground. He bit off his groan with a grimace and pulled himself onto his knees. A hand that smelled like Anton’s sweet candy curled around the back of his neck and pulled the bag from his head.

Len liked to pride himself on his abilities to control his emotions. Even in the face of carnage and looming destruction, his true thoughts were kept closely guarded from even those who knew how to read him. Barry had always tested that control. From the smug grin on Anton’s face, Len was losing again.

The crawl space he’d been thrown in was barely wide enough to fit a person let alone Barry’s lanky figure. With his hands cuffed over his head, Barry had to curl his long body into a ball. A dirty rag tightly blindfolded the speedster who was tilting his head at the sound of Len’s rather ungraceful landing.

“Five minutes, Snart.”

“Len?”

Len didn’t even bother to wait for Anton to close the door behind him. He launched himself in the space left between Barry and himself and ripped off the blindfold. Wide green eyes blinked at the sudden return of vision and before Len could stop himself he was pressing his lips against Barry’s in a desperate kiss. His heart hammered against his chest in a sudden surge on energy and he couldn’t help the tremors in his hands.

“Are you ok?” He raked his gaze over the speedster and pressed on Barry’s thigh where a very distinct stain of blood was around a very obvious bullet hole in his jeans. A little reminder for Len that morning when Anton had held the phone up for him to listen to Barry’s scream as they shot him in the leg.

“A morning motivator,” Anton had said. Len was going to kill him.

“I’m ok," Barry said sensing the dangerous spike Len's mood had taken. "It’s healing but I don’t know how long before I’m going to have to start explaining why I’ll suddenly be able to walk without a limp.”

Len didn’t even know how Barry could smile at a time like this but he was and Len wasn’t sure he could handle it. Len nodded and fell back on his heels. Ripping the edge of his shirt in a long strip, he wrapped the wound. It was still an open wound and any regular man would’ve needed immediate medical attention but for Barry it was nothing more than a cramp. Still, his healing was taking longer than normal. He tried to remember the last time Barry ate but from the paler of his complexion he knew Barry was running on fumes. They’d been on their way to eat when Anton and his crew had jumped them and that’d been over twenty-seven hours. Len often found comfort in seconds but this time it was just another worrying thought that was going to get him killed if he didn’t get his head on straight. Then what good would he be?

At least with Len’s bandage, Anton and his men wouldn’t see the way Barry’s skin knitted back together into a beautiful patch of milky skin. He wrapped the cloth and double knotted it before tucking the ends into the dressing. Once he was done with that, Len let his hands skim the length his boyfriend for any other bumps or bruises before finding Barry’s head.

"Why haven't you gotten lost kid?" Len's hands cupping Barry's face were gentle but Barry could see some of that cold anger swirling in his grey eyes. 

"I don't know where they're keeping you." Barry whispered but leaning into Len's hands all the same. "I can't get to you in time if I don't where you are."

Len released a stressed sigh and pressed his forehead against Barry's. He'd heard the same tireless threat. Escape and the other one gets a bullet to the head. Nothing original and perhaps its genius laid in its simplicity. They were used to dealing with metahumans and crazies with bombs. A metahumans greatest strength was also they’re biggest weakness and it was easy to exploit that. But now they were trapped between a rock and a hard place by plain ordinary humans that Len had pissed off. 

"Stop worrying about me, Barr." He smoothed his thumb across Barry's cheekbone, trying to ease some of the tension in his face. "Get out of here."

A stubborn streak flashed across Barry's face and Len both loved and hated him for it. "No." 

"Don't make me be the hero, Barry." 

Barry leaned forward and Len returned the gentle kiss. Len was many things. A thief, a murder, a roughen even but, he was also human and he’d be lying to himself if he said he didn’t find a little bit of comfort in the soft weight of Barry pressed against his lips. Barry’s hand phased out of the handcuffs and found Len’s neck, knuckles pushed against his pulse point and splaying across his cheek. He let one hand release Barry’s face in return for tangling his fingers with Barry’s.

Len sighed as the kiss broke, lost in the haze that was Barry Allen and all his wonderful annoying glories. But Barry was still alert and he fidgeted into a more comfortable position, however impossible that may have been, before phasing his hand back into the handcuffs.

“This is a stupid plan.” Len grouched. Barry smirked and before either of them could say anything else, the door leading to Barry’s cell was ripped open and Anton strutted into the small crawl space with a far too smug expression on his face.

“Time’s up, Snart.” A hand found the back of Len’s and he was yanked away from Barry. Len struggled, he couldn’t help himself, but he was easily over powered and pinned against the wall. The concrete pressed into the skin of his cheek and he couldn’t hide a grimace as Barry watched over with those wide green eyes that were so filled with concern and anger. Anton chuckled, popping his gum as he moved over to Barry.

“You should be proud, kid,” Anton said as he tied the blindfold back across Barry’s eyes. “Your boy cleared over ten million dollars for me today.”

“Len---“ Barry started but Anton clawed a hand into his hair and pulled. Barry gasped in pain and winced as the barrel of Anton's gun was shoved into his cheek. Len froze and allowed the men pinning him to retie his hands behind his back as Anton stared at him. The smugness had been replaced by something dark and deadly.

And Barry was merely tolerating all of this. The notion that Len and Barry both knew that he could easily free himself and flash out of there but wasn’t was like a shot from his cold gun to his spine. He was staying for Len. Barry’s stupid sentimentality was going to get him killed one day.

“Remember,” he said punctuating with another cruel pull of Barry’s hair. “I will put a bullet in his skull if I so much as smell that you’re up to something.”

Len sneered at Anton but said nothing in return. Anton held his gaze for what seemed like hours before the dark mask dropped from his face and the superior phoniness blanketed his expression again. Releasing Barry with a playful shove, Anton strolled from the crawl space as they dragged Len out and onto his knees. Anton kicked the door close with a slam and let his gum give a loud satisfied pop.

“I’m going to kill you. Painfully and as slow as possible.” Len growled as Anton locked the door. Anton snickered and rolled his eyes before he walked past Len.

“Whatever you say, Snart. Rest up tonight. You still owe me fifteen million that you’re going to steal for me.”

They didn’t bother with a bag that time and instead settled on hitting Len with a right hook sending him sprawling onto his back and into darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

The first thing Len learned about Barry was that he was full of surprises. Even when he found out that the Flash was some scrawny kid that barely looked old enough to be out alone by himself, Barry still found a way to send Len into states of pure unadulterated astonishment that left him questioning everything. But then Barry would smile and look at him like he held the moon and he would find his feet under him again.

Barry was walking with a dreamy look on his face as he swung their joined hands back and forth.

“Stop,” Len grumbled but without the usual chill in his voice. Barry ignored him for one massive swing before he finally stopped and tangled their fingers together in a tighter hold. Len squeezed his hand and brought Barry’s knuckles to his lips. “What’s with the sunshine routine? Kind of a cloudy day for that don’t you think?”

“You love this weather.” Barry smiled knowingly. Len did. Central City was always sunny but the days before a storm were always Len’s favorite. When the wind was mixed with cold from the North and warm from the water to the South. It was the crackling before the storm and it always made Barry antsy. When he’d woken that morning, with Barry blissfully unaware of the looming storm as he snored softly into Len’s chest, he’d been fully prepared to spend the day in. Instead he had a dopey smile and a Barry that was practically buzzing with energy.

Len hummed. He loved this weather but he loved Barry more.

“C’mon,” Barry said, tugging on Len and using his long legs to carry him further along the way. “I’m starving.”

In there line of work, screeching tires and a fast moving van was never a good sign. He wasn't really sure how everything went down after that point but he was pretty sure it had a lot to do with the fact that Barry _never_ listens to him.

* * *

 

Barry phased through his cuffs with a soft gasp. Riding out the fatigue he pressed into the cold concrete wall of his cell. Wow, he’d forgotten what happened when he didn’t eat enough. Shaking his head, he pushed the blindfold onto his forehead and stretched out his limbs before crawling closer to the door. Even in his weakened state he could vibrate the lock long enough to jimmy it lose and be on his way. But he had to find Len first or he was no better off being left where he started.

“Shame what’s going to happen with Snart when this is all said and done, don’t you think?” One of his guards said stepping across the floor and making the ceiling to Barry’s cell shake. “Hell of a thief.”

“But a total anal retentive dick. Good riddance.” Barry waited for more detail but much to his chagrin a baseball game echoed throughout the room above him and bled through the floorboards. Starling City Comets were up by five. Useless.

* * *

"Snart," a familiar voice said from behind him pulling Len from his musings. Finally!

"I was wondering when you would show up." Len barely spared the man a glance as he went about his way of carefully extracting the gold diamonds from the display case. He had a part to play after all and even though West had finally put Len’s little calling cards together it only sped up his timetable.

"Put your hands where I can see them, Snart."

"Sorry, detective, but I'm on a deadline." Len finished clearing out the rest of the jewels. Glancing around at the now empty cases, Len let out a content sigh and spun on his heel. West flinched at the move but didn’t shoot him so that was a start. However, Len never liked to drag things out--- unless it was with Barry--- and he was on a bit of a time crunch. “Seen a certain acquaintance of ours recently?”

It was abrupt and the sudden change made Detective West jolt. Len wasn’t easy to intimidate but the expression that slammed shut on West’s face was enough to test what little resolve he had.

“Where is he?”

“Tucked away.”

Len had heard West talking about Barry before. He called him ‘my kid’ and at first Len always heard those two words with a pang of jealousy in his chest. He’d never experienced someone willing to care, love, and protect to that caliber. Lisa, sure, but the bond of a sibling was different from the bond with a parent. A father. West would step in front of a bullet for Barry and still make sure to be there for him when the guilt that would suffocate the kid after. There was Iris, annoying and the center of attention though Barry couldn’t even begin to imagine a world without her in his life, but there would always been room for Barry in West’s heart.

Barry always said Joe West was one of the smartest men he knew. It was time to see if he was right.

Len raised a hand, palm facing forward, and slowly pointed to his ear. The earpiece that was giving Anton and his crew all the audio of how the heist was going was low tech and clunky. A piece of junk that would’ve had that Cisco kid weeping on his knees for sure. West’s frown deepened but the light of recognition passed over his face and wordlessly he nodded.

“Wh--- What have you done to him?” West asked, his voice cracking at the forced roughness he was playing for his part. Len pulled the ear piece out and carefully set it on the wood table beside him.

“Nothing yet. But that’s why you’re going to chill out and let me be on my merry way.” Len tilted his head to the side and aimed his cold gun at the earpiece. West seemed to get the meaning and pointed his gun a little to the left of Len. He regarded Len for a moment, sizing him up and eying him suspiciously, before pulling the trigger. Len squeezed his gun and the earpiece was covered in a thick layer of ice against the table.

“What the---“ West began but Len held up a hand and waited. The distinct squealing of rubber tires against pavement echoed faintly from the back as Anton and his crew abandoned Len to his fate. Len waited another moment before he nodded to West.

“Thanks,” he said hiking his gun onto his shoulder and stalking forward. “I’m going to need your cellphone.”

“What the hell is going on, Snart?” But West pulled out his phone and handed it to Len.

“No time to explain.” He snatched the phone from West and stalked past him for his exit. “They’re keeping Barry in some sort of safe house on the outskirts of the ferry. I suggest you bring some handcuffs and body bags.”

He made his way to leave before a strong hand grasped his bicep. Joe stared at him with a hard expression.

“That’s not going to work for me. What the hell has happened to my kid?” And there it was again. Len considered shrugging him off. He didn’t have time for sentiment and soothing a father’s worry. But Joe would do anything for Barry and if anything happened, Len knew he could leave Barry in safe hands.

“I don’t have time,” he said working his jaw. “Barry is safe but not for long. He doesn’t know I’ve slipped away from them.”

Joe frowned and Len was only too aware of the fact that he’d yet to holster his weapon, though he was almost certain Joe wouldn’t shoot him. Not yet at least. “You’re telling me that Barry is willingly staying with whoever you’ve managed to piss off---”

“For me, yes.” The words tasted like acid on Len’s tongue as he grimaced.

“And why would he do that?”

“Do you really need to ask that question?”

Joe stopped for a moment before shaking his head. Barry’s greatest weakness was one of his biggest strengths. He’d try and save everyone, many times, even if that meant he had to suffer. And now he was suffering for Len.

“You’re the guy,” Joe finally said. “The one he’s been sneaking off to see when he thinks I’m not looking.”

Len didn’t bother with giving him an answer.

“So, now what? Are you just going to cut and run?”

“No. I’m going to finish this,” Len said, his voice frosted over with a deadly chill.

Joe nodded and stood up to his full height. “You and me are going to be having a talk when this is all said and done.”

He holstered his weapon and stepped aside to let Len pass.

Stepping into the free air, Len stalked away from the bank with the phone to his ear. It rang once before Cisco answered with a speedy, “Still no word yet, Joe, but we’re---“

“Hello, Cisco,” Len said cutting him off. There was a sharp intake of breath on the other end and Len was pretty sure he heard an increase of typing through the speaker.

“Cold,” Cisco replied, his voice menacing in that cute way he always tried to use when he wanted to be intimidating. It always made Lisa coo with those doe eyes of hers whenever she heard it.

“I need you to connect me to the cellphone of Anton Koval and track it. You need me to be on the phone with him for a totally of seventy eight seconds, correct?”

“Why Koval? As in the Koval crime family? Why would I _ever_ _in a million years_ do that for you?”

Len sighed impatiently as he turned a corner. “Because every minute you waste not doing exactly I say is another millisecond it will take Anton to put a bullet in Barry Allen’s skull. Now patch me through.”

He didn’t hear an answer but a second later there was a soft ring on the other end. With a sharp click Anton’s voice barked through the speaker.

“What?” He sounded irritated. Good. It meant that Anton hadn’t been expecting to improvise.

“I can see why your uncle didn’t see fit to move you up in the ranks if you ran away from a few gunshots so easily.” Len smirked.

“Snart,” Anton hissed. The chaos in the background silenced on the other end. “Where the hell are you?”

“Making my way to wherever you plan on picking me up. My ride seems to have disappeared.”

Len could practically hear Anton’s scowl on the other end. “Your boy is dead, Snart. I don’t know what you’re playing at but---“

“Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves. I believe you owe me a thank you after all that mess at the jewelry store."

“And what the hell was that Snart?”

“That,” Len purred, “Was the foster father of the man you currently have trapped under your basement.”

“You mean the body.” Len’s stomach flipped and he clenched his jaw hard enough to hear a crack.

“I have your diamonds, I’m willing to come back to you, and I’ve managed to distract the police from noticing your rather poor house keeping.” He took a deep breath. He needed to keep a cool head because this moment was the most important if he wanted to keep his plan in place.

“I’m just supposed to trust that you’d come back on your own free will? For what? This kid?” When Len didn’t say anything, Anton swore. “What happened to you, Lenny?”

It was a good question. It wasn’t too long ago that Len would’ve had no problem killing whoever got in his way. Anton would’ve been iced in the chest and Len would’ve gone into hiding until the storm eventually passed. But Len also wouldn’t have been with Barry the day they were taken either if he’d still been the same Len he’d been. Len was far from a good man. He was still a criminal after all. If anything he was a selfish man and he was too selfish to give up someone like Barry.

“Anton, you are probably one of the stupidest human beings I’ve ever had to encounter in my life but make no mistake… the smartest thing you ever did was take that _kid_ and used him against me. Now am I supposed to believe that you’d be willing to pass up an offer two million dollars worth of diamonds or not?”

Silence and then---

“You have two hours.” Anton rambled off a bogus address and hung up the phone.

“Address, Cisco.” Len growled into the phone.

“Cherry Drive. It’s two blocks off of Ferry Lane. He was moving but he just stopped. By my calculations I would say he was in a small four door vehicle.” Anton’s personal car. They were going to move Barry. Len broke out into a run and twisted out from the shadows into the public daylight. He scanned the crowd of people and spotted a teenager twirling his keys on his fingers as he made his way to a small black motorcycle. Perfect.

“I need an address, Cisco!” Len nearly shouted as he ran across the street. “Look for any prohibition era housing that would have some kind of cellar or crawl space.”

“Dude, that describes like every abandoned building on that lot.”

“Find it, Cisco!” That time Len did yell. The teenager with the keys jerked as Len snatched the keys from his hand and shoved the bag of jewels into his chest. Slamming the phone into his pocket, Len swung his leg over the bike and twisted the throttle. Kicking off the pavement he sped through the traffic of cars and away from any sort of civilization. The wind whipped dangerously at his head as he sped up and if he was to crash the bike there would be no doubt in his mind that he’d been dead. But if they moved Barry then he wouldn’t know where else to look and by then it could be too late. Ferry Lane was at least fifteen minutes away. Len was going to make it there in six. Barry wouldn’t know that Len would’ve escaped and he’d take a bullet to the head for no reason other than the fact that Len was simply _too late._

Len hated being the good guy.

* * *

Barry played the dutiful part of the confused injured hostage like a dream. His leg had healed into nothing more than a dull bruise beneath Len’s wrappings but he limped as if putting too much weight would shatter what little resolve he had.

“Keep quiet and no one will hurt ya, kid.” One of his guard’s warned before holding him upright and dragging him from his cell.

“Where are we going?” He asked, his voice thin and quiet. The hand around his arm tightened into a bruising grip and he couldn’t help but wince.

“I said be quiet.”

“Let’s go!” Anton’s voice shouted from somewhere outside. Barry blindly followed but even the blindfold couldn’t hide the sudden appearance of the sun as they stepped outside. “Get the kid in the trunk! We don’t have much time before Snart ditches this brat and his cop dad starts sneaking around.”

Barry twisted in his captors hold with an eye roll and dug his heel into the ground.

* * *

Len shot his gun at one the goons waiting by the open trunk of Anton's personal car, eliciting a scream of anguish that could only come from third degree frostbite. Anton and his crew jerked around him and aimed their guns towards Len’s head.

“Well, well, Lenny,” Anton called with a slow mock clap. “I knew I shouldn’t have underestimated you.”

Len smirked beneath his parka hood and cocked his head. Behind his goggles he zeroed in on Barry who was being held by two of Anton’s men with his hands behind him and the blindfold wrapped around his head. Other than the fake limp he didn't seem like he was hurt anywhere. 

Car tires squealed in the distance and the distinct wail of police sirens filled the air. Something red and angry crossed over Anton’s face as what Len suspected was Joe's police vehicle sped down the street. Pulling his gun out and aiming the barrel to Barry’s cheekbone, Anton scowled as Detective West skidded into park behind Len. Guns were pointed in a frenzy, Anton's crew unaware of who they should be aiming at and where. 

“Really, Len? The cops?”

“Drop your weapons! Drop them!” West and his partner were shouting orders and adding to the improvised chaos that Len had carefully planned. Casting a cursory glance over his shoulder and checking that it was only West and Thawne, Len’s smirk only grew.

Anton cast a nervous glance between West and Len before grabbing a hold of Barry himself and shoving the gun harder into his face.

“Look at you, Lenny. Playing the hero and trying to save your little damsel in distress.” He was trying to bait Len but his voice was too tight with desperation that he nearly choked on his gum. 

“Not exactly, Anton.” His sardonic tone edged with a dagger of ice.

Anton faltered before he swallowed his gum. “What the hell is that suppose to mean?”

“My damsel doesn’t need saving.” Barry sent Len a small smile before he flashed out of Anton’s hold and ran in a blur around the confused and terrified mobsters. Shouldering his gun, Len stepped back and watched as Anton and his men went from standing menaces into fallen pathetic unconscious lumps on the ground. West and his partner stepped beside Len and watched with a deadpanned expression that only came from seeing Barry at his best one too many times. Barry skidded to a stop beside Len and outright giggled with adrenaline.

“Hi guys,” he said with a blinding smile. His foster father eyed him critically and frowned. 

“Barry,” Joe said carefully. “You all right?”

Barry nodded but Len saw his face pale before he dropped. Throwing an arm out, he caught Barry as his legs crumpled beneath him.

“Barry!”

“Eddie, take care of Koval!”

“Ok, not so great.” Barry mumbled into Len’s chest. Len dropped his cold gun and wrapped an arm around Barry’s waist before easing him down to the ground and throwing his goggles off his face.

“So much for not being the damsel.” A weak fist punched him in the side and he chuckled at the impact. Pushing his hood back, Len stared down as Barry’s eyes struggled to focus in front of him. Joe skidded beside him with a bottle of water and ripped the lid open.

“Small sips, Barr,” he ordered and held the bottle up to Barry’s lips.

“He hasn’t eaten in over a day.” Len muttered more to Joe than Barry and pushed a hand through Barry’s hair. Barry groaned into the water and Joe let him hold the bottle while he checked Barry’s nonexistent bullet hole.

“They shot you?” He gapped but Barry waved his concern off.

“Technically, yes but it’s fine.”

“Barry!”

Barry moaned louder to block out the impending lecture and turned into Len, pressing his face into his stomach. Clucking his tongue, Len went back to petting the back of Barry’s head and the speedster practically melted beneath his touch.

“I forgot what it was like to be this hungry!” He whined. Joe watched them with a perplexed expression on his face.

“You should get out of here, Snart.”

“Joe---“ Barry tried to get up to protest but Joe and Len both pushed him back down into Len's lap with a firm hand. Barry shot Len a betrayed scowl but stayed down on the ground with what could only be described as a pout at the two. 

“You shouldn’t be here when everyone else gets here or you two lovebirds are going to have to explain all of this to the entirety of the Central City Police force." Joe sent Len a meaningful look before nodding his head. "Go before I change my mind.”

Barry's smile was impossibly wide and his beautiful green eyes dazzled in the sunlight as he looked at Joe with what could only be described as adoring devotion. Even being a super hero who saved the city ten times over, Barry was still a kid who wanted his father's approval over the man he was dating. Joe raised a brow. 

“I don’t know why you’re smiling. We’re going to have a long talk about you dating criminals behind my back once we get you back on your feet, young man.”

The smile faltered and Len couldn't help but smirk as he eased himself from under Barry. Leaning over he cupped his face and soothed out whatever tension was left before bending down and giving him a long kiss. 

"Next time," he said when they broke apart. "We order in."

Barry tugged him down for another kiss with a laugh. 

"My hero," he mumbled against Len's lips making Len roll his eyes. 

"Don't expect it to happen often." 

Len never liked being the hero. It was practically impossible for a guy like him to even come close to a title like that. But Barry was the definition of the impossible and maybe Len could try for that on occasion. 

**Author's Note:**

> Welp. There it is. Not the best but a good distraction!


End file.
